Author: Boria Majumdar

For us in India to win a World Cup football medal is still a pipe dream. For someone to have won it means a lot. Igor Stimac was part of the famed Croatian national team that stunned the world into silence in 1998 on the way to becoming the third best football team in the world. In fact, in the semi-final they were very much in the game till the end of the first-half. Stimac was a key member of the team and thereafter had a stellar career in the EPL as well. For West Ham and Derby County, he…

It was very early on in his innings, and Shubman Gill was not looking comfortable. He had hit a four the previous ball, but even that shot was a miscue over mid-wicket. Tom Hartley bowled one that went with the arm and Gill did not read the trajectory of the ball. As the ball hit his pad plumb in front of the stumps, Gill looked despondent. India were 34-3 and in trouble. Almost as an afterthought, and in consultation with Shreyas Iyer, he reviewed. And when the ball-tracking showed a slight deviation as the ball hit the pad, Gill…

Is sport about winning medals? Breaking records? Raising the bar? Or is sport also about life lessons? Making of a better society and better individuals? For the longest time, the Olympic movement has been equated with a sports competition in India. The world’s greatest sporting spectacle which comes every four years and a nation is measured by the number of medals won. Needless to say India doesn’t really have a record to boast about. But then, is it just about a sports competition? If that was the case, then why use the term “movement”? Do we say the FIFA World…

I am a Mohun Bagan fan and have never hidden that. Having said that, may I also say that when Dimi Petratos pushed Sayan Mukherjee away in anger, it was an offence that could have merited even a red card. That’s what summed up Saturday evening’s derby for me. Poor refereeing that marred the contest. For much of the second half, East Bengal’s players were on the ground play-acting and there were innumerable scuffles that the referee just couldn’t manage. For all the derby intensity, it was an average game impacted by poor refereeing. The penalty was a 50-50 call…

The suspension of the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) gives the nation a bad name globally after it was suspended by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Saturday. The reason for suspension is “non-compliance and for not conducting elections on time.” On the one hand, India won 111 medals at the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year. The Indian Para athletes were supposed to double its medal count at the forthcoming Paris Paralympics. In such a scenario, the PCI getting suspended is not good news. In all this mess, it is the athletes who lose out.…

Pullela Gopichand had committed to be a part of the Conclave for months now. In fact, in October 2023, we had discussed and finalised the dates with him. Neither of us knew that the Conclave would clash with the French Open Super 750 in Paris. When I realised this, I remember calling Gopi in a somewhat anxious state. Gopi, as usual, was calm. “Once I have promised you I will be there. I will certainly be there”, he said. #Trailblazers2Conclave Know Your Panelists! 2nd Indian to win the All England after Prakash Padukone. The backbone of Indian badminton, the base…

Indian football’s premier club rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal mirrors the oppositional identities, social differences and emotional commonalities inherent in Indian society and culture. While the roots of the origin and consolidation of this football rivalry lie in social and sub-regional differences of contemporary Indian society, its playing out in the last 25 years can only be meaningfully explained in terms of club loyalty, fan culture and commercial transformation. This was borne out yet one more time on September 3, 2023, the last time the two teams met in Kolkata in the Durand Cup final. While the East…

Shubman Gill has always been considered cricketing royalty. That he had special talent has been known for years. When he dazzled the world with his skill during the U-19 World Cup, many argued that India had identified a successor to the legendary Virat Kohli. Gill was the prince who would in time be elevated to the status of king. Some years down the line, and we may say the promise hasn’t been fulfilled. Yes, there have been occasions when the world has watched in awe as Gill showed glimpses of brilliance. His 93 against Australia at The Gabba in 2021…

India had just lost the all-important Olympic qualifier to Japan and skipper Savita Punia was distraught. When we spoke late into the night, it was pretty much evident that Savita had been crying. Sport at times is cruel. Despite her best efforts, which included a fantastic match against Germany, Savita had failed to lead her team to Paris. “There is no point continuing,” she said over the phone. “Main aur khelna nahi chahti [I don’t wish to play any more].”That she was emotional was evident. Moreover, she blamed it all on herself as most good leaders tend to do. “Mujhe…

Why do we watch sport? A very simple question, which has no easy answers. Many like me watch sport because it makes us feel alive. The positive vibe, the extraordinary excellence on display on occasions, the superhuman stories of braving pain and criticism – sport lends itself to great storytelling and visual drama. And in doing so, makes us all feel that things that we normally don’t think of as likely are indeed possible. There is a certain disruption associated with sport. A kind of rebelliousness that we all grow up with, but which gets lost as we are all…